Hong Kong's election on Sunday (7 December) saw a near-record-low turnout after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years prompted anger against its China-backed authorities, but voter participation edged higher than in the previous vote four years ago.
Only candidates vetted as "patriots" by the government were allowed to run for the global financial hub's 90-seat legislature, with only 20 of those seats being directly elected, and the rest chosen by an election committee stacked with Beijing loyalists, and special interest and professional groups.
Voting hours were extended and new polling stations opened to encourage people to vote.
The government said the final turnout in the Legislative Council election was 31.9%, versus 30.2% in 2021, which was the lowest since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The actual number of votes, however, was slightly less than four years ago.
The fire had changed the "social atmosphere, making it a very difficult election for us to organise," David Lok, chairman of the Election Commission, told a press briefing early Monday.
Security was tight in the northern district of Tai Po, close to the border with mainland China, where the fire engulfed seven residential towers, with large numbers of police patrolling the area around Wang Fuk Court, the site of the fire.
Residents are angry over the blaze that killed at least 159 people and took nearly two days to extinguish after it broke out on 26 November. The authorities say substandard building materials used in renovating a high-rise housing estate were responsible for fuelling the fire.
City leader John Lee said the government would now work with the legislature to "drive institutional reform" in the aftermath of the fire, amid some public calls and petitions calling for greater government accountability and for improved oversight over the construction sector.
Eager to contain the public dismay, authorities have launched criminal and corruption investigations into the blaze.
Authorities make arrests for inciting vote boycott
The city's anti-corruption agency said on Sunday (7 December) four men were arrested on suspicion of using social media to incite people not to vote or cast invalid votes. It obtained an arrest warrant for another man for a social media post on Saturday.
Publicly inciting a vote boycott was criminalised as part of the sweeping changes that effectively squeezed out pro-democracy voices in Hong Kong. Pro-democracy voters, who traditionally made up about 60% of the electorate, have since shunned elections.
Shortly before midnight, authorities started clearing flowers and other offerings from a memorial site in a small park close to the burned-out residential development, a pre-announced move that suggested government anxiety over public anger.
Beijing's national security office in Hong Kong has said it would crack down on any "anti-China" protest in the wake of the fire and warned against using the disaster to "disrupt Hong Kong".
China's national security office in Hong Kong warned senior editors with a number of foreign media outlets at a meeting in the city on Saturday not to spread "false information" or "smear" government efforts to deal with the fire.
The blaze is a major test of Beijing's grip on the former British colony, which it has transformed under a national security law after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019. Only 20 seats in the legislature are directly elected.
A resident in his late 70s named Cheng, who lives near the charred buildings, said he did not vote.
"I’m very upset by the great fire,” he said, declining to give his full name for fear of becoming a target for authorities.
"I won’t vote to support those pro-establishment politicians who failed us."
The number of registered voters for Sunday's polls - 4.13 million - has dropped for the fourth consecutive year since 2021, when a peak of 4.47 million people were registered.
President Donald Trump said Iran is keen to reach a deal with the United States, claiming Washington had paused engagement to allow funeral ceremonies...
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to use next week's NATO summit in Ankara to advance his push for greater European responsibility in secur...
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 4 July, covering the latest developments you need to know....
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump on the 250th anniversary of American independence, saying Russia and th...
China said on Saturday it had launched a coast guard patrol east of Taiwan, prompting a strong protest from Taipei, which accused Beijing of illegally...
Global equity markets remained on track for one of their strongest quarterly performances in years on Tuesday, lifted by a powerful rally in artificial intelligence-linked stocks, improving investor sentiment and easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Authorities in Hong Kong have seized suspected counterfeit World Cup merchandise worth an estimated HK$156 million (US$19.91 million), including jerseys and footballs, in one of the city's largest recent crackdowns on fake sports goods.
Kazakhstan has used a high-level visit by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee to promote itself as a gateway to Central Asia, offering investors access to industrial projects worth more than $100 billion and a growing regional market.
Thousands of visitors flocked to Hong Kong’s Cheung Chau island on Sunday for the annual Bun Festival, as crowds gathered to watch the famous “floating children” parade and prepare for the traditional midnight bun-scrambling competition.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has raised its forecast for the rapid emergence of a strong El Niño, warning the climate pattern is likely to drive higher global temperatures and intensify extreme weather in the months ahead.
India is investigating a data breach at Tata Electronics that exposed sensitive documents linked to Apple's unreleased iPhone 18 Pro, marking the government's first public comments on the incident.
Iran and the U.S. have concluded indirect talks in Doha without a major breakthrough, with discussions focused on maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and frozen Iranian funds. Both sides are expected to meet again after the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
International politicians and religious leaders have paid respects to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei throughout the day, ahead of his six day funeral ceremony which begins on Saturday. His casket is currently on display at the Iman Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran.
Germany has requested urgent talks with China's ambassador following reports that Chinese authorities trained Russian soldiers, adding fresh strain to relations between Beijing and Europe amid the war in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to use next week's NATO summit in Ankara to advance his push for greater European responsibility in security, with a bilateral meeting planned with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Paris seeks closer coordination with key allies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump on the 250th anniversary of American independence, saying Russia and the United States share a special responsibility for maintaining global security as the world's two largest nuclear powers.
China said on Saturday it had launched a coast guard patrol east of Taiwan, prompting a strong protest from Taipei, which accused Beijing of illegally expanding its authority and undermining regional stability.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 4 July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Russian attacks killed at least six people across three Ukrainian regions on Friday, regional officials said, as Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure continued to add pressure to fuel supplies inside Russia.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment